


Bleach It Orange!

by eri_quin



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Genderbending, Multi, Reverse Harem
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-09-15 21:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9257981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eri_quin/pseuds/eri_quin
Summary: When Rukia comes to Karakura, Gin tags along for supervision (and because he made some nobles angry). How will Ichigo deal with both of them, while they adjust to a surprising human that could do things she shouldn't? Especially given the odd things that keep happening around her.Fem!Ichigo AU, reverse!harem.





	1. A Destined Path

 

Rain. It was always raining since that day. Even when it was just inside of her, the rain was a constant presence that never stopped. She was always going to be stuck in this rain. She hated it.

_Ichigo_

Her world was a desolate ruin, gray and shattered remains with glass and rubble floating everywhere. Rain continued to pour down on her world and nothing could escape it. She knew it and she could feel it. The skies would remain colorless and she would be stuck in this cold, callous monochrome world.

_**Ichigo…** _

The day Ichigo's mother died, a part of her died as well.

_**Ichigo!** _

* * *

Isshin, with heavy steps, trudged up the stairs of his home to where he knew his oldest daughter would be, quiet and alone like she had been since the day his wife and her mother had died. He missed Masaki, but so did the girls, and he knew there was an empty hole in their family and an absence they all were feeling. Sighing, he stood before Ichigo's door, wondering if he should just let his daughter be. Shaking his head, he opened the door and looked into the darkened room, flinching at the sight of his daughter sitting on a chair placed next to the window, where she continued to look out of it quietly.

Her usually vibrant sienna-brown eyes were dulled, not lively and happy as hers should be. Neither her father nor anyone else could reach her. He knew she was thinking _'Why should they though? It was her fault her mother was dead.'_ He didn't believe or think that at all, but he didn't know how to get Ichigo to believe that also.

"Ichi-chan?" Isshin looked in on his daughter hesitantly. "Do you want your daddy to tuck you in?"

"No thank you," she said quietly, gripping the porcelain mask on her lap tightly. Her dad glanced at it before looking away. That _thing_ had always been with Ichigo…

Isshin stayed a moment longer by the door, but left his oldest when one of the twins began to cry. As he grabbed onto Yuzu, he thought about the meeting he had just had earlier.

One of the Quincy Elders had approached him.

Three days ago, when his beloved Masaki had died, so did Ryuken Ishida's wife. It was a strange…coincidence. In any case, they had propositioned Isshin with an offer that was both tempting and not. Given the death of Ryuken's wife, they had proposed an arranged marriage between Ryuken and Isshin's eldest daughter, in exchange for protection –what with Isshin's lack of powers and Ichigo's already high spiritual power. Isshin had balked at first, before considering it. He wanted his family safe and protected. He tried to ask about Ryuken's son Uryuu instead, since he and Ichigo were at least around the same age, but the Quincy Elders refused. Uryuu was a "mixed-blood," according to them. Ryuken was considered their "last"; Ichigo may have been only "50%" pure-blood, but she had no "mixed-blood" in her and they were curious about a child with Quincy and Shinigami heritage.

In the end, Isshin told them he'd think about it.

Now though, even if he still wasn't sure about his answer, at least he _had_ an answer.

* * *

"Hou-chan, why did Mamma die?" Ichigo's small hands clenched around the mask.

The spirit of a small boy that had haunted her from the beginning smiled at her and patted her hands, black hair like ink and eyes so dark that they looked like voids. He never spoke, but he was always there.

"Ichigo."

She looked away from the window and at the tall, dark-haired man that stood solemnly and like a sentinel behind her.

"Zangetsu," she murmured.

And then she found herself breaking down and crying into her hands. It wasn't long until one of his hands settled onto her head, and he gazed down at her sorrowfully.

"One day you will stop crying and it will stop raining. Until then, I will wait in the rain for you."

* * *

As soon as Isshin had given his answer, a reluctant yes, they had wanted the two to meet. Isshin felt it was too soon, but they insisted. They had also wanted to see if Ichigo had any potential in learning the Quincy arts, which Isshin had wrinkled his nose at. But, they said, if she did, they wanted her to learn and train as much as possible and as early as possible.

Ryuken would be her teacher.

That was why the two of them were now face to face, meeting in Isshin's living room and quietly discussing this new turn of events with apprehensive demeanors. Isshin was especially worried though, as he didn't want to push Ichigo so soon after Masaki had died.

"I think it best I do not physically be in her presence until she is older," Ryuken told him uncertainly, personally unsure about the whole thing. "It will make things easier on her with the arranged marriage. Our age difference is already an issue; there's no need to exacerbate it by having my presence in her childhood and confusing my role."

Isshin agreed, but he was still disgruntled about the future relationship anyway. Ryuken was around his age and had previously been engaged to Masaki, Ichigo's mother, in the first place. The Quincy Elders were really pushing this blood thing.

And besides that, Ichigo was too young to be promised to someone right now. Especially to someone like Ryuken.

"How older?" he asked in resignation.

"…At least 13?" Ryuken hesitantly suggested.

Isshin nodded slowly. "I think Ichigo will be old enough to understand then. How do you plan on teaching her though?"

"I will leave her with instructions and assignments every week," Ryuken decided. "You can watch over her and correct her."

Isshin frowned. "But she can't know who I am –"

Ryuken interrupted him. "She will be learning the Quincy arts and about Quincies. There's no way you can avoid telling her about Soul Reapers and in extension yourself."

He wanted to protest, but he knew Ryuken was right. So he led the other man into the kitchen, where Ichigo (after snapping out of her depression –well mostly) had taken to doing more and more of Masaki's duties and was currently furiously washing dishes, eyes still sadly dull.

"Ichigo, I want you to meet someone. This is an old friend of your father's –Ryuken Ishida."

Ichigo stopped what she was doing and turned from the sink to look at him shyly, not sure what to make of the unknown man she was being introduced to.

"H-hello…"

Ryuken, to Isshin's surprise, actually smiled, if wanly. He started to pull up his sleeves and cautiously headed over to Ichigo, conscious of worrying or scaring her.

"Hello, Ichigo. Would you like some help?"

And as Ryuken dried dishes and stood by Ichigo while she washed them, Isshin was already contemplating how to give his daughter the talk about his past. It wasn't going to be easy, especially having gone on so long without talking about it or going back to past in any way. He had chosen Masaki and then his girls, and refused to look back.

Therefore, later on that night, as Ichigo helped him put the twins to bed, he sat her down on a couch after. Ryuken was right and there was no avoiding this.

"Ichigo, I need to talk to you about something very important. You see, there was this place called Soul Society…"

And he continued, explaining about where he had come from, about Hollows and Soul Reapers, how he had been a Soul Reaper, then about her mother being a Quincy and how she was going to have to learn some things about her mother's side in the coming years, and that he would also be teaching her all he could about Shinigami arts at the same time.

She had two different heritages after all, and he wasn't going to just let her Quincy side dominate her life.

* * *

Years later, when Ichigo turned thirteen, her father sat her down and told her yet another thing she hadn't known about. She also learned about the arranged marriage with the man she vaguely remembered having met, who had kindly stood by her side and helped her clean dishes and somehow allowing her to feel calmed and soothed after living in days of apathy or turmoil. It was awkward to know that though, and their second meeting had initially been very awkward as well, given that she now knew the truth and understood a little more of things. But then, learning that he was also her mentor in the Quincy arts, they found a more common and stable ground to stand on and she decided that they could eventually work through the rest as it came to them and time passed. Though it strangely seemed like he disliked talking about Quincies and the like, him being personally there had helped her a lot.

Ryuken Ishida had ended up reintroducing himself, this time adding in his role of being her fiancé, and Ichigo had politely (if uncertainly) returned back the introduction. They then started to talk about things, getting into the talk slowly as they kept on talking and getting used to the other.

"Your ability in the Quincy arts are adequate," he told her, when her learning and progress was brought up. "You've got a good grasp on the basics, if maybe never progressing to the more advanced techniques. This is all speculation, mind you. Maybe you could probably pick one or two of those techniques and be able to master them, while keeping the others average until you have time to work on them as well. Your reiatsu is so massive that it becomes a bit of a problem for some of those techniques. However…" Here, she saw him look fond and amused. "Vein Blut came naturally to you, so by now, you've gotten such a mastery over it. Like your mother actually."

A pang of hurt and longing hit her and she intently leaned forward, towards him.

"Can you tell me about her?" she asked tentatively, not sure if he would be willing to, even if he did know anything at all about her mother.

He looked caught off guard, but then he nodded. Ichigo found herself brightening up, happy to know she would be ending up hearing about her mother and that her new fiancé would be able to tell her so much more about Masaki.

So as he talked, she listened closely and was enraptured by what she heard, wanting so bad to know and hear more about her mother. She loved her mom so much, and it hurt not being able to hear her call Ichigo's name again, or feel her warm and tender hugs, or even see her loving, bright smiles that Ichigo craved and would never be able to have again. And when she found herself having to separate from Ryuken, who had to leave, she felt a strange oddness about it.

He was her fiancé and that was still a strange concept, no matter what kindness managed to give her.

In the end, Ichigo still felt too young and a little odd about the arranged marriage. But she was really grateful to have Ryuken in her life.

Started – Completed (Can't remember the dates since I wrote this handwritten and didn't note the dates)  
Typed/Edited: 9/23/16 -9/23/16


	2. Strangers on the Rise

"Ichigo!"

She tensed, stopping herself from reacting. Given it was a glomp and not a tackle, there was no need for her to retaliate.

"Come on, Goat-face," she said irritably. "I have to start on breakfast."

Isshin pouted. "But-but –!"

"No buts!"

He sighed, but finally let go of her. Together, as he leaned affectionately against her and she let him, they headed to the kitchen where Yuzu was waiting for Ichigo and had already set out what they needed to cook with. Karin had likewise set up the table.

Though Ichigo had taken up their mother's role and duties, the other two had taken on more responsibilities as they grew older. Yuzu helped clean the house while Karin did laundry. Though Ichigo was in charge of cooking, Yuzu wanted to learn and help out there, so Ichigo had taken to teaching her how to cook and to also letting her help her out with the cooking.

"My beautiful Masaki! Look at how mature and responsible our girls are!" he sobbed at the large poster of their mom.

Ichigo rolled her eyes, but turned to the girls with a gentle smile.

"Let's have breakfast together, alright?"

Even if it was probably just their ideal of her, Ichigo would continue to do her best to emulate their mother.

* * *

At school, the now sixteen year old orangette headed to her classroom, lost in thought. Today, Ryuken had asked her to visit him at the hospital. She felt uneasy, but since he didn't sound worried, she tried not to be either. Not that would help much though; Ryuken tended to be inexpressive all the time.

"I-Ichigo-hime?" a nervous girl had approached her, and Ichigo had realized she had reached her class already and was in her seat. Smoothing over her usual indifferent expression and pushing away her natural inclination to scowl, Ichigo gave the other girl a soft smile and waited patiently.

"Um, Ichigo-hime, can I take your picture for the club?"

Ichigo ignored the mention of that club and nodded her assent. When the girl smiled brightly and took her picture, Ichigo had been too distracted to notice Chizuru come up from behind her and then grab her breasts.

Blinking before turning bright red, she didn't get to have a chance to lecture Chizuru before the girl with the camera screeched and threw her camera at Chizuru and knocked her back. She stomped over and she and Chizuru began to argue.

"Hahaha! I guess your fan club is as overprotective as ever," Tatsuki Arisawa, one of her best friends, had approached her with Orihime Inoue, another of Ichigo's best friends.

Orihime giggled. "But Ichigo is pretty and elegant and graceful! Why wouldn't her fan club be?"

Tatsuki snorted, even as Ichigo frowned and blushed horribly.

"Quiet, you two," Ichigo grumbled. "I don't need to hear it."

"I wonder how they'd be if they saw how Ichigo is normally around her friends," Tatsuki teased.

Orihime clapped. "Like Ichigo needed some comfort and love, so they have to do everything they can to wipe off that scowl from their princess' face!"

Ichigo sighed and gave one of her infamous scowls that her friends always tease her about. "You two…"

"Ah! Ichi-hime! I am here to protect you!"

Ichigo took a step back and Keigo Asano, one of those she didn't know how she actually befriended, flew past her, crashing into a few desks. While Orihime and Tatsuki laughed, their other male friend, Mizuiro face palmed, while Chad appeared silently and stood behind her like a bodyguard. Ichigo's face was completely deadpanned.

"I still don't know how she became friends with you," Mizuiro told his in-pain friend.

"Ah, it's heaven! Both Ichigo-hime and my beloved Orihime are here together!" Chizuru was back.

Ichigo wondered why was she surrounded by idiots. She really, really wished she knew.

* * *

The hospital was busy as usual, and Ryuken had his hands full that morning. Being the director of the hospital wasn't as cozy as it sounded and when he took on shifts too, he didn't have lots of time for himself. His son was probably resentful of him for that.

However, today was a little bit different and special.

"Hey, did you see that pretty lady that walked by?"

"I did! Is she visiting someone?"

"I don't know. Lucky person though. What if it's a man?"

"Lucky man! Oh, I wish I had her pretty hair. It reminds me of sunset. I wonder if it's natural?"

Sunset, huh? There was only one person he knew with that hair color and he _had_ invited her here. It both amused him and embarrassed him to know his nurses had been talking about his fiancée.

He found his way towards an elevator and waited for his floor, where he quickly strode towards his office. Inside, he found Ichigo Kurosaki gazing out of his industrial windows with her usual indifferent face. He observed her for a moment.

Ichigo had certainly grown up in the time he'd known her. Her orange hair, rare strands of blended red highlights included, had grown long and she had left it floating around her. She had also grown tall, especially for a Japanese woman, though she was still shorter than Ryuken. All in all, the nurses were right in how beautiful Ichigo had become.

"Something on your mind? You've been there for a bit," she raised an eyebrow, finally turning to face him. He also should've known she already knew he was there. It was rare for her to not notice a change in her surroundings, even when she was being inattentive. "And can I know why you asked me here?"

He gave her one of his rare, small smiles. "I've been meaning to give you something for a while, especially since you've turned 16."

He went over to his desk and opened up a drawer, grabbing a medium-sized velvet box. He went to her side and opened it, revealing a pentagram cross.

"It'll be something you can use, and at least you won't have to use and rely on mine anymore," he said stiffly, holding it out and feeling oddly anxious.

But Ichigo gave one of her own rare and genuinely happy smiles, and accepted it from him.

"Thank you, Ryuken," she thanked him, sounding pleased. He himself was pleased at the usage of his name and he found he liked the sound of it from her.

"So when do I get to meet your son?" she asked teasingly and he grimaced. "Still not on good terms then."

"Don't remind me," he grumbled.

* * *

Though Ichigo was someone who fought a lot when she was younger and currently fought these days in professional places instead, Ichigo had taken up tea ceremony and painting classes after her mother died. In her and her family's eyes, Masaki had been beautiful and graceful, and Ichigo wanted to emulate her, especially for the girls. Tea ceremony was something that was supposed to be full of grace and what many considered elegant, and she even remembered her mother wishing she'd learned how to do it more properly. According to Ryuken, his family had tried, but Masaki had trouble with it.

Painting though? Ichigo reflected back to the cheesy poster of her mother in their kitchen and scowled. She was crap at drawing and whatever, but she swore she was going to learn how to paint, even if it killed her. She was going to paint a proper picture of her mother, even if it was the last thing she did.

"Pst! When are you going to enter the kendo tournament?"

Ichigo sighed, ignoring Mizuho Asano as she focused on making her tea.

"Ichigo!"

"Asano-san! Please be quiet. You're disrupting the class!" the strict tea ceremony teacher scowled heavily.

Ichigo hid a smirk as Mizuho's face flushed red.

Serves the other girl right.

"Please attain a partner and perform the tea ceremony with them," the teacher assigned.

To avoid Mizuho, Ichigo turned to her left, facing a man with dark hair that was slicked back. He smiled slightly at her. He was actually handsome, but there was something about him that felt off…but familiar. She also felt a rush of reishi flow through her veins, which she forcibly put a stop to in surprise. He bowed slightly in his _seiza_ position.

"Hello, I am Tamashii Kukuo. Pleased to meet you."

She hesitantly replied. "Pleased to meet you too. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

He waved a hand towards the tea sets. "Shall we begin?"

There was a certain elegance and grace to him that made her envious. Though she'd always been described as such, she doubted she could ever compare to him.

Quietly, they began tea ceremony preparations. He started first, then her, before they served tea for each other.

"I have some homemade cookies I brought. Would you like some?" he asked kindly, accompanied by a kinder smile.

Unwillingly, she seemed to feel her hesitation drift away.

"O…kay…"

As he held out one, she felt as if this was some strange turning point.

But it was just a cookie, right?

Forcing out a smile and accepting a cookie, she took one bite. Despite the delicious flavor, she didn't want to finish it. But she made herself eat the rest of it and forced out another smile.

However, he looked solemn.

"Thank you so much."

Why did it seem like he was thanking her for more than a cookie?

* * *

Though Zangetsu had been quiet in her head, as soon as Ichigo had been on her way home, she saw Hou appear. He waited until she was near before grabbing her arm and tugging her in a direction. She followed until she saw a ghost of a girl crying by some lamppost, with some jerks goofing off and laughing nearby. A crystal vase with a flower was knocked over while the pictures near it were obviously of the crying girl.

A tick developed by her temple. "What the hell do you think you guys are doing?"

If she was yelling and throwing out any sense of grace, it was because she couldn't _stand_ bullies.

"What's your problem?" one of them sneered. She ignored their leers though.

"My problem?" Her eye twitched. She pointed to the lamppost. "What is that?"

"A lamppost?" They all looked at her strangely while one of them answered in annoyed confusion.

"Wrong!" She kicked one in the face.

The others yelled out in indignation before coming at her, screaming insults. She looked at them blankly, before she quickly took them down in succession.

"THIS. IS. A. PLACE. OF. PEACE. FOR. HER!" She then pointed at the pictures. "Pay your proper respects!"

By then, they were all posturing themselves and begging for forgiveness. They promised to get a new vase and flower, and they would never do it again.

Ichigo scowled at them. "Make sure that you don't."

They flew off while she sighed and turned to Hou and the girl. The girl wasn't crying any more, but looking at her in awe.

"Wow! You took them all out and the way you fought was so..so pretty!"

Ichigo sweatdropped, but decided to just shrug off the admiration. She gave another one of her gentle smiles and softened the look on her face for her. She remembered her own mother and placed her hand on the girl's head.

"Take care and try to pass over, alright?"

The girl nodded and smiled at her. Ichigo sighed and then looked at Hou with a frown.

"Come on, you. Geez, give me a clue what's going on next time, won't you?"

* * *

Ichigo had been getting ready for bed when she was shocked and terrified to find two people jump through her window and land softly on her carpet. The male was tall, with short silvery hair and eyes that seemed closed. He wore a black shihakusho that was similar to the one the girl next to him wore. She had dark hair, cut particularly, with big dark blue eyes.

Ichigo bit her lip before she could blurt out, "Soul Reapers."

Started – Completed (Same)  
Edited/Typed 9/27/16 - 9/27/16


	3. Fate Happens

When she was a child, her father told her about her heritage. He told her about Quincies, because her mother was one and her family wanted her to learn about them and train in their arts. But she also learned about Soul Reapers because they were enemies of Quincies. And yet they were also important because her _father_ was a Soul Reaper.

She was the product of a Quincy and Soul Reaper coupling, which was one of, if not the most, unlikely couplings to come to be.

In consequence, while learning to be as much of a Quincy as she could be, Isshin had told her all about Soul Society, about the Rukongai, Seireitei, the Gotei 13, and most importantly about Soul Reapers and their zanpakuto –the extension of one's soul, alive with their own personalities, their shikai and bankai stages…

Zangetsu was her zanpakuto. She just knew it. She had never asked him about it, even after learning about all that, but she didn't need to. With one look towards each other and they both understood.

But now it was all coming to a head because there were two Soul Reapers in her room, and she was terrified they knew her father was there and were coming to take him. They couldn't handle another parent being taken away.

Not again. Their family wouldn't be able to take it.

* * *

Rukia Kuchiki was to go to the town of Karakura for a routine patrol for Hollows. However, given the increase of Hollow activity and Rukia's dispassionate and depressed state, it was decided she needed supervision. Which is where Gin came in.

Gin Ichimaru was nowhere near a normal captain. Yes, he tended to spew out heavy sarcasm all the time and his hobbies might or might not include causing mischief and trouble whenever and wherever he could for his own amusement. Which might or might not have gotten himself in trouble with some nobles (bastards probably complained) and landed him in trouble with Old Man Yamamoto.

Which brought him to the fact he was now suspended indefinitely, unable to wear his captain's haori, and assigned to watch over Rukia Kuchiki in the world of the living. Also, they'd placed severe limits on him, so severe he was nearly helpless. Meaning he had to rely on Rukia to take care of Hollows and the like.

"This is boring," he grumbled. "Can you get rid of that Hollow faster?" he complained.

He noted Rukia's eye twitched. "We just _got_ here, Ichimaru-taicho."

"Eh? But you should've taken it out as soon as we got here then."

Gin hid his laugh as Rukia scowled and refused to look at him or answer back, forcing herself to take a deep breath. He watched, still bored, as Rukia quickly cleansed the Hollow.

"This is going to be repetitive, isn't it?" he sighed to himself.

After taking care of the Hollow that had been causing a commotion among the humans and causing too much damage to buildings, Gin was sure nothing interesting was going to happen. But they again felt another huge Hollow's presence and tracked it to an ordinary home.

However, as soon as they got there, the Hollow's presence disappeared. Something else seemed to mask it, and even Gin raised his eyebrows.

"Ichimaru-taicho, shall we proceed?" Rukia asked hesitantly.

"Hm. Yes, Rukia-san. Let's enter through that window right there. It's opened."

Maybe Gin won't be so bored after all.

* * *

Ichigo looked away from the two, pretending to put away things and that she couldn't see them.

"Something's wrong," the female muttered.

"Is that obvious? I hadn't thought so," but though the man's voice was light, he was obviously sarcastic. "Never mind that –that girl. Can't you feel it? Her spiritual pressure is huge. If that Hollow's going anywhere, it's here."

Ichigo had her back to them, so the brief look of worry was kept to herself. She couldn't let them know she could see and hear them, even as she tensed.

"Hey, hey, human! Can ya see us?" A heavy hand landed on her head and turned it around to face a widely grinning face.

Ichigo balked and threw her head back, taking scrambling steps away from the strange male.

"What the hell?! Get away from me, you fox-faced bastard!"

"Ah hah! I knew you could see us, human!" he exclaimed.

In the background, the female was staring wide-eyed at them.

"My name's not 'human' either," Ichigo grumbled. "It's Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Like a strawberry~?"

What the hell's wrong with this guy?

"No, like 'one who protects,'" Ichigo huffed irritably.

"Mmkay. I'm Gin Ichimaru. That's Rukia Kuchiki. Have you seen something big and ugly around here?"

Ichigo gave him a weird look. Then again, since he was talking about Hollows most likely…

"Earlier, there was something around that intersection nearby, near some buildings," she admitted.

He waved at her dismissively. "We took care of that one already. We tracked another one to this neighborhood."

Ichigo looked at him blandly. "Really?..." She pretended to think. "No, don't think I can help you."

He, funnily enough, pouted. "But Ichigo!"

Quick to be familiar, this guy.

Ichigo ignored him and flipped back her covers, intending to try to go to sleep.

"Oh no you don't!"

She actually "eeped!" as that fox-faced bastard picked her up from the bed and carried her over to the female Shinigami.

"Rukia-san, do something about her," Gin plopped her down on the floor.

Rukia blinked, still in shock. "You can see us?" she asked blankly.

Ichigo face palmed while Gin shook his head.

"You gotta be faster than that, Rukia-san," he said.

Why was he formal with her and not Ichigo?

"You see, we're Soul Reapers," Gin decided to explain. "So it's kinda amazing you can see us, Ichigo. Rukia-san! Explain to Ichigo about us!"

Rukia, clearly flustered, went to quickly do so. Three minutes later, Ichigo was sweatdropping as Rukia held up a notebook that was filled with strange drawings of bunnies. Gin made a disagreeing noise.

"No, no! It should be more like this!"

Somehow, he found his own notebook and began scribbling. Soon enough, he held up his notebook and showed his own version of Rukia's drawings, only the rabbits were replaced by foxes.

As the two argued over which drawing was best for explanations (eventually devolving into simply whose drawings were better), Ichigo contemplated just running out of the house and away from these two. But then it was too late and they were facing her, ready to go.

"These are bad souls known as Hollows," Rukia pointed to the evil-looking bunnies.

"These are good souls!" Gin pointed to happy-looking foxes.

So they decided to trade out, huh?

Ichigo ended up being forced to sit there and listen to these people. However, when they were done, Ichigo heard a loud roar.

"Did you hear that?" she exclaimed.

Rukia gave her an odd look, while Gin frowned.

"Hear what?" Rukia asked.

"It sounds faint, but definitely a Hollow," Gin said thoughtfully.

"It's not faint! It's right here!" Ichigo yelled.

The Hollow roared again and this time Rukia actually heard it while Gin heard it more clearly. Yuzu stumbled into view through Ichigo's open door, looking faint.

"Ichi…go…" She collapsed onto the floor.

"Yuzu!" Ichigo tried to scramble onto her feet, but she found herself stopping as her arms were wrenched behind her by some invisible force and bound by it. She vaguely remembered hearing Rukia incant a Kido spell, which she assumed bound her.

"You must stay here. It is not safe for you," Rukia told her apologetically. "Let us handle this."

The two of them headed downstairs, while Ichigo became infuriated. Like hell she was going to stay there and do nothing.

With a grunt, Ichigo forced herself up onto her knees and then to her feet, before rushing downstairs.

* * *

Gin had actually gotten caught off guard as he (and Rukia) saw Ichigo rushing down the stairs. They hadn't expected her to have budged from her spot. He was even more surprised when, as Ichigo and Rukia argued, the orange-haired girl began to forcibly break out from the Kido spell. Even low-level, the fact she had been able to break out of it was impressive.

"Karin!" Ichigo screamed, breaking free at last and running out of the hole in her home and towards where a small, black-haired girl was in the Hollow's grasp.

"Ichigo, no! You'll just get hurt," Rukia yelled out.

Gin opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. He was curious as to what this girl could do and he didn't want to be a distraction.

Ichigo ran towards the Hollow and dodged a swipe from one of the Hollow's arms. She was fast, he'd give her that. However, he couldn't help his eyes opening slightly, amazed as Ichigo stood firm and crossed her arms, blocking an attack from the Hollow while strange blue markings appeared on her arms.

"Ichigo?!" Rukia's yell distracted Ichigo, who wasn't able to avoid an attack from the Hollow which slammed into her.

Gin frowned heavily as he and Rukia rushed over. He wasn't happy with his restrictions. He couldn't use any of his Soul Reaper powers, not even to activate Shinso. His speed was only slightly better than an average human's, though his strength was at least a little better. But all in all…he was _useless_.

"Please stop, Ichigo. You'll only get hurt, you idiot!" Rukia moved to deflect the Hollow's attack, successful for a moment before being knocked away.

Gin cursed under his breath and moved to interfere before stopping. What could _he_ do? He'd been effectively made useless because of a stupid noble.

"Get your hands off my sister!" Ichigo roared, standing and getting ready to face the Hollow again.

Before she could though, Rukia ran forward and placed herself between Ichigo and the Hollow, getting injured in the process. The Hollow's jaw clenched tightly around her right side before throwing her away. Gin wanted to tear his hair out.

Gripping Shinso, he tensed as he observed the scene. He wanted to take over, but his abilities had been severely undermined. Even if he used his zanpakuto like a regular sword, he couldn't fight with it with his usual ability. He went over to Rukia at least, watching Ichigo do her best to face the Hollow on her own (which was kind of scary and amazing).

"Ichimaru-taicho," Rukia coughed out blood. Gin hid his wince.

"That wasn't very smart of you, Rukia-san." He kept up his usual grin, even though it was obvious he sounded admonishing.

"We can't beat it," Rukia grimaced. "I'm injured and you have restrictions."

Gin frowned. "What are you getting at?"

Rukia glanced at Ichigo. "She could," she murmured.

He hesitated, understanding quickly. He looked over at the bloodied, but still fighting (how?) Ichigo.

"I'll do it, Ichimaru-taicho," she volunteered herself and he picked her up. He was curious, alongside his irritability at being reduced to such a weak liability. How powerful could this girl go, with the ability of a Shinigami? And with her already massive reiatsu pouring out of her seemed to hint that her reiryoku was probably off the charts.

Reaching Ichigo, Gin carefully set Rukia down. "Go on, Rukia-san! It'll be our little secret~"

"What're you talking about?" Ichigo scowled at them, though she kept a wary eye on the Hollow.

"Do you want to protect your family?" Rukia asked demandingly.

Ichigo growled, "Of course! What kind of question is that?"

"What Rukia's saying is, to get that kind of power you must become a Soul Reaper," Gin said cheerfully.

Ichigo gave him an odd look, but she nodded decisively after. "Alright, what do I have to do?"

Rukia held out her zanpakuto. "You must stab yourself with my zanpakuto, straight to the core of your soul! When tht happens, you will gain some of my Soul Reaper powers and become a Soul Reaper yourself."

Gin had to give it to the Kuchiki family. They sure knew how to be dramatic.

Ichigo raised her eyebrows, but shook her head.

"Alright, Soul Reaper. Let's do this."

Rukia faltered, so Gin helped her up and held out her arm, helping her with her zanpakuto.

"What did I tell you, Ichi?" Gin grinned, though Ichigo cutely looked scandalized. "She's Rukia and I'm Gin. Now here we go!"

Ichigo grasped onto his and Rukia's hands, and pulled the zanpakuto as they thrust it out. There was a blinding white light.

When it cleared, Gin could feel the human girl's massive spirit energy spilling out even more and then saw her in Shinigami clothes. But her zanpakuto…

It was deep black with an edge of silver, and as long and as big as her. It was huge, which was somewhat of a gauge indicative of her power, and even more amazing, it seemed to already be in its released state.

Despite its size, Ichigo seemed to wield it easily.

"Now you're gonna regret this, Hollow. Let's get him, _Zangetsu_!"

_She already knew her zanpakuto's name._

Started – Completed (Same)  
Typed/Edited 10/1/16 – 10/2/16


	4. Three's Crowding

Rukia had meant to only give her half. Instead, somehow this human girl managed to take almost all of Rukia's power, which left Rukia nearly as powerless as Gin.

"Now aren't you two a pair," an amused voice greeted the two Shinigami walking around after Ichigo had passed out and had been transferred back into her bed and they had then fixed everyone else's memories of the event.

Rukia turned to look at who it was, eyes widening as she gasped out at the same time as Gin said in surprise, "Kisuke Urahara!"

Urahara snapped his paper fan closed, grinning slightly as he walked towards them with his wooden sandals making quiet clacks against the ground. His green and white striped hat shadowed his face.

"Do you two need some help?"

* * *

Ichigo rubbed her face tiredly, still a little out of it. It had already been a strange start to her day and she was finding it hard to believe as to how it was going. Her family woke up and seemed normal and unhurt, and didn't even _remember_ what happened last night. As far as they were concerned, they'd been asleep and were amazed to know a "truck had driven into the side of their home."

"Weird," she muttered, guessing it had been the work of the Soul Reapers. She'd probably end up asking her dad about it later on after school, and also check to see his side of the story and hope he remembered things differently than that.

"Ichigo-hime?"

Ichigo kept in her sigh and turned to who it was, smiling gently at her _kohai_.

"Yes, Michiru-san?"

The girl held out a photo and pen, blushing lightly. Ichigo blinked. It was the photo taken by that other girl from yesterday. They'd developed it already?

Then she realized it was a photo of herself she was looking at, and she became even more embarrassed.

"Please sign this for me, _senpai_?"

Ichigo's embarrassment worsened and she quickly grabbed the photo and pen and signed it. She gave it back and Michiru giggled and left happily. Beside her, Chad patted her shoulder silently, while behind her she heard her friends laugh. With a quiet huff, she rolled her eyes as she turned to them. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Ichigo-hime, Lookie here! We got a new student," Keigo told her excitedly.

And there was Rukia Kuchiki, in all her glory, and wearing the school uniform.

She curtseyed old-fashioned towards Ichigo.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Rukia Kuchiki."

Ichigo faintly wondered where fox-face was.

"Pleased to meet you," Ichigo gritted out, quickly moving out of shock.

Rukia smiled sweetly, too sweetly. Ichigo almost glowered at the other.

"I hope we can be great friends!"

Ichigo almost wanted to say over her dead body.

* * *

Ryuken was pleased to see Ichigo again so soon, and didn't mind the surprise visit at the hospital from her. She looked agitated though, but when she saw him, her agitation morphed into anxiety.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

"How'd you know?" she frowned.

"Your face is an open book," Rykuen said wryly. "It's not hard to tell with you."

Ichigo's face flushed slightly, which made him grin briefly. It was gone as soon as it had appeared though.

"There was an…incident?" At his raised eyebrow, she looked embarrassed. "Last night. A Hollow attacked my home."

At that, Ryuken grew serious. He may have officially grown out of his protector role for her, but that didn't mean he wasn't still protective of her or still hadn't relinquished his protector role personally.

"What happened?"

So she told him. She told him how two Soul Reapers had appeared in her room and what had happened after. Eventually even how Ichigo had stabbed herself with the Soul Reaper's zanpakuto and became a Substitute Soul Reaper. Afterwards, she returned to watching him anxiously. His blank face smoothed over at that and he reached over to grab one of her hands.

"You are still my fiancée," he said softly. "And that is the only fact that matters."

He observed the tension seeping out of her and hadn't realized how important his opinion was to her. It made him feel oddly very pleased about it, though he pushed the feeling aside.

"Besides, just as my son firmly believes, I deny my Quincy heritage," he couldn't help sarcastically quip. "So all that really doesn't matter to me in the end."

"Right," she rolled her eyes. "What is it you try to ingrain in your son? 'There is no profit in being a Quincy'?"

Ryuken gave her an amused smile. "Well, it's true."

She lightly hit his hand, giving him an exasperated look. "Don't tell your son that. Being a Quincy is important to him!"

"He should give it up and do something more productive," Ryuken grumbled, rubbing his hand.

"Not all of us can be smart doctors like you," Ichigo snorted. "Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up and let you know what's happened and going to happen. I have to head home and finish homework before I get to bed."

He nodded. "Alright. But before you go. I would…like to try something new with us." A brief feeling of hesitation entered him before he pushed it away and grasped her face as he leaned forward. Missing her widening eyes as his own closed, he let one hand down and kissed her cheek gently. For a moment he was there and then he was gone, moving a step away from her.

Ichigo's face was fully red as shock colored her expression, and she stared at him. He looked back quietly, still waiting.

"Um, y-yeah. Bye," she stuttered, definitely embarrassed, and then she was gone from his office almost as if she'd transported herself out of there.

Ryuken couldn't help the pleased smile.

* * *

"Are your homework all done?" Ichigo asked, grunting as she blocked a kick.

Karin panted as she tried to surprise Ichigo by a jab next, but miscalculated and nearly fell over. "Yes!"

"Me too, Ichi-nee!" Yuzu breathlessly, but cheerfully, exclaimed while she also tried to attacki.

Ichgo halted. "Good. But you two are fighting like girls," she teased.

"I _am_ a girl," Karin glared.

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Ichigo!" both of her younger sisters yelled.

Both girls then ran towards her and she let them tackle her, landing roughly on the ground and where they laughed carelessly in a tangle of limbs.

"It's dinnertime," Ichigo's lips twitched up. She got up and held out her hands, giving a soft, tender look towards her sisters. "Get cleaned up while I get it started."

"Yes, Ichigo," the girls chorused as they grabbed her hands and then they both tiredly went inside.

Ichigo patted herself down before she went in as well. Washing her hands at the kitchen sink, Ichigo then began to prepare dinner. She tried to keep her mind off of earlier with Ryuken, and more so off of Rukia having enrolled in her school.

The Shinigami hadn't exactly bothered or talked to her too much, though she was always around and had somehow integrated herself within Ichigo's circle of friends. Ichigo was also worried about that other Soul Reaper. She had not seen hide or hair of Gin Ichimaru and it bothered her. Where had he gone and what was he up to? Had he returned to Soul Society? And if that was so, why was Rukia still here?

The fact he could've gone back to Soul Society worried her too. She didn't want Soul Society involved with her family, especially with her father being who he was. Speaking of…

"Dinner ready?" her father asked, appearing suddenly, though Ichigo had caught his presence already before he'd spoken.

"Almost," she hmmed. She glanced at the stairs, seeing her sisters still gone. "Do you still remember what really happened last night?" She gave him a side glance.

Isshin's silly grin became serious. "Of course. I saw the Hollow. However, I was knocked out when it came for Karin. What happened?"

So Ichigo told him what happened. By the look on his face, he was thinking deeply. Having a Soul Reaper (potentially two of them) hanging around was a risk, what with Isshin's identity and all. There was also Ichigo's newfound powers and role to think of.

To her surprise, Isshin admitted, "I don't know Rukia. I recognize her last name, but we've never met and she's too young to know my face. My clan name, yes. But not me. Gin Ichimaru, however…He'll be a problem."

"I don't have to be~"

They whirled around to face none other than Gin, grinning creepily at them.

"Hiya, Shiba-taicho! Long time no see. What a surprise running into you!" He delightedly clapped his hands. "This is exciting! Just call me Gin and please let me stay here a while!"

They gave him a strange look, though their wariness hadn't let up at all. This seemed like a great twist for them, but they didn't know the catch and were wary to just be optimistic.

"Gin," Isshin gave a strained smile. "Good seeing you after all this time."

"What's your deal?" Ichigo interrupted rudely, inwardly wincing at doing so. She still narrowed her eyes though. "Why are you here and why do you need to stay here?"

Gin gave a bemused, pouty look. "Eh? Can't I just want to stick around?" At Ichigo's scowl, he held up his hands. "Rukia-san lost most of her powers helping you. It's actually quite illegal what she did, transferring her Soul Reaper powers into you. So she's going to recover here in the living world with a gigai. A false body, ya know?'

"But why are _you_ sticking around then?" Ichigo was still suspicious.

Gin gave an actual pout this time. "Ichi! I was there too, ya know. So I'm an accomplice. Plus I'm her current partner because I have to supervise her."

Ichigo noted his accent changed from formal to a little more informal over time.

"Why must you supervise her?" Isshin asked.

"Eh, Rukia-san is upset over someone dying for a long time now, so I gotta watch her."

Makes…sense.

"Also, I pissed off some nobles so they punished me."

Father and daughter sweatdropped.

"Alright, you may stay here," Isshin said pityingly, understanding the problem of stuck-up nobles. Ichigo wanted to screw up her face.

"Haha, we're like a family of convicts! This place is a haven for us criminals!" Gin laughed. Isshin joined in.

Ichigo's eye twitched. Idiots. The both of them were idiots.

Goat-face and Fox-face deserved each other.

* * *

After Ichigo's shower, she went into her room and hurriedly dressed. She yawned as she slipped into bed. It wasn't long until she fell asleep.

A few minutes later and…

The closet slid open as the bed dipped.

"Rukia-san~ You're like a stalker, hiding in Ichigo's closet like that," Gin snickered.

Rukia threw him an irritated look. "I'm not the one lying on her bed right now."

Gin scoffed. "Her bed's comfy."

"I heard you get your own room and bed!"

"Like I said, _her_ bed's comfy! And warm~"

Rukia eyed him from her spot in the closet.

"Are you _cuddling_ her?"

"Shh! Don't wake her. I'm comfy, I told ya."

Rukia rolled her eyes and slid the closet door closed.

Gin sighed contentedly and continued to hold onto the oblivious human girl.

"If she finds out, she's going to kill you," Rukia muttered.

Started – Completed (Same)  
Edited/Typed 10/2/15 – 10/2/16


	5. Waiting On a Hero

The morning had felt off to Ichigo, but she tried not to look into it more. Nothing had seemed out of place, though she definitely felt suspicious. Then again, what with those two Soul Reapers hanging around, it wasn't (and probably shouldn't be) too much of a surprise she felt like this and was acting even the remotest paranoid.

But her friends had been giving her worried looks since she'd arrived to school, and she did all she could to evade questions and try to reassure them she was fine. Really. Because she was.

Just except the strange feeling she had, ever since she'd woken up in her room and felt something was amiss.

The usual avoidance of Chizuru and Keigo's overly physical affections were easily shrugged off (part of the normal in her life, but they were especially aggressive and clingy today), Mizuiro was slightly a little too inquisitive (unlike his usual self, which clued her in to his worrying), Orihime and Tatsuki had stuck to her side for the most part, and then there was Chad who had planted himself by the two other girls by Ichigo's side and practically stared off anyone else who wanted to come near her.

But Ichigo just couldn't stop thinking about what was bothering her and trying to put a finger on it. Everyone's hovering wasn't helping her to think and get her to figure out what was bothering her and had set off her senses so early on in the morning, so she finally managed to ditch everyone and go off on her own.

By then, she'd been found by her fanclub, while she had also managed to find Rukia. As Ichigo fended off the usual fans, she kept an eye on her. It wasn't long until the dark-haired girl sidled over and Ichigo's gut feeling was right on target. The little midget was up to something, because that face boded no goodwill.

"Ichigo-hime, huh?" she asked slyly and Ichigo inwardly sighed. She knew it. Damn that nickname!

She gave the other a dark look. "What do you want?"

Rukia smiled smugly, eying her predatorily and making Ichigo want to scoot away…or call Chad over, to stand between them.

"I lost my powers and can't do anything, so it falls to you to fulfill my duties as a Soul Reaper," she announced.

"No thanks."

Rukia's smile dropped and she gaped at the taller girl. Ichigo looked blandly back.

"What? Why?" she asked incredulously, especially given the other's uncaring attitude.

Ichigo shrugged. "I'm not a hero. I'm not the type to go saving strangers from big, bad monsters."

Rukia frowned, going for the backup plan. "Have it your way. C'mere you."

She darted over to Ichigo, hitting Ichigo's ehest with the palm of her gloved hand. The orangette felt a weightlessness and then was quick to realize she'd somehow been shoved out of her physical body. Her spiritual body was wearing her Soul Reaper clothes, which was the only thing she managed to take note of before she was grabbed by Rukia and rushed away from school. Soon enough, they were at the park, where a little boy was running from a Hollow. Judging by the chain hanging from his chest, he was a spirit.

"'Bout time, you two," Gin snarked from their side. "What took you so long?"

"Complications," Rukia snapped, refraining from pouting.

"My, my, Rukia-san! How disrespectful you've become," Gin smiled widely.

"Shut up! What the hell?!" Ichigo screamed, swinging her zanpakuto forward to point at the lunatics who'd dragged her there, after unceremoniously forcing her out of her physical body. And even if Gin hadn't been there, she was including him because she knew he was involved with this every step of the way.

"You can't differentiate between souls. All souls are the same! You cannot ignore your duty –" Rukia began another of her dramatic spiels.

"I said SHUT. UP!" Ichigo's eye twitched.

Ichigo vanished from Rukia's sight, though Gin managed to see it, and reappeared where the Hollow was, having already destroyed it in an instant.

The teenager scowled, turning slightly to face them, with the sunset framing her and forming a vivid background.

"And duty made you help me and my family that night? To stand in between me and that Hollow, and get injured in the process?" Ichigo scoffed, shaking her head and letting some orange strands of hair fall loose around her face. She slung Zangetsu back on her back.

"Che. I'm still not sure about this Substitute business…but I'm not just going to stand by and turn a blind eye to someone in trouble." She turned fully to them, giving a small quick of her lips. "So I'll help you guys for now." She'd concede somewhat –if only because she'd grown fond of the two idiots and (as they tended to complain to each other around her) they'd become helpless and wouldn't stop whining about it.

It was almost cute in an idiotic way.

Ichigo turned from them and headed to the quiet boy, who was sniffling a little, though he'd been watching the whole thing in shock and silence. Her indifferent face gained a softer edge as she smiled gently at him, and she kneeled down carefully in front of him. She softly brushed back his hair.

"Hello, darling." She missed her mother. "You don't need to be afraid." Her mother always kept her fears away. "You're going to go to a good place. So that means you need to move on, okay?"

The little boy looked at her with wide eyes, but nodded in understanding. "O-okay."

Ichigo reached over and grabbed one of his hands, squeezing reassuringly, before she grabbed her sword and flipped it, gently pressing the bottom of her hilt against the boy's forehead.

"Hey, Rukia-san?" Gin murmured, admitting to being in a little awe to himself as he watched the scene.

"Hm?" Rukia was a little in awe too, not taking her eyes off the sight.

"She's what humans call a superhero, right?"

Rukia twitched and wished she could hit the captain. Of course he'd ruin the moment.

* * *

"So how was your day?" Isshin was smiling, but Gin could tell he wasn't happy.

"Um…good?" Gin laughed nervously. What had he done wrong? He frantically searched through his mind, but he couldn't think of anything!

Isshin's eyes narrowed, even though he was still smiling. "So it was worth skipping out on me, even though you said you'd help out at the clinic, Gin-san?"

Gin winced. Ah. That was the problem. "B-but your daughter! She was going to cleanse her first Hollow as a Substitute Soul Reaper! And she did her first Konso!"

Isshin grumbled, but he lightened up as he thought of that and his first daughter. "At least give a man fair warning before you disappear suddenly on me next time." He started to grin shamelessly then. "Now tell me all about it! How'd' my daughter do?" he asked eagerly, feeling prideful.

Gin broke out into his regular too-wide grin, and began gushing about the whole event to the proud father. Gin, too, was happy to recount what had happened, experiencing a little awe again. Although…thinking of it, Rukia and her clan may hail in theatrics, but Ichigo had a different (but similar) type of dramatics to her too, if unintentional.

Isshin suddenly smiled softly. "Ichigo's always been a good girl. Always responsible and protective over her family and friends…"

Gin nodded thoughtfully, knowing the other was right and feeling like he could already see how true that was, even though he'd only known Ichigo in such a short amount of time. Rukia would have echoed her agreement about that too, had she heard it herself.

"I have a favor to ask, Gin-san," Isshin said abruptly, catching Gin off guard. Favor? What favor would he have wanted from the likes of Gin?

Hearing the seriousness in Isshin's voice, Gin nodded carefully.

"Would you teach Ichigo Kido? At least the basics?" Isshin asked. It was definitely something Isshin couldn't really educate her on through the years, what with his lack of powers and inability to show her the correct way to perform the Kido spells.

"Kido?" Gin was more than surprised and hesitant. He thought back onto Ichigo's massive reiatsu. "With her spirit energy, can you really expect her to be able to do any Kido?"

"Large ones maybe," Isshin admitted. "Or overpowered basic ones. I'm hoping over time she'd be able to learn to control her reiatsu enough to control the output somewhat."

Gin was doubtful. Still, if he did this (with Rukia of course), he'd need a large space and where she could cause a lot of damage freely. His grin returned almost immediately.

Good thing he knew a guy.

* * *

"Why are we here?" Rukia whispered, looking around in confusion.

"I always spend an hour after school at tea ceremony lessons," Ichigo answered nonchalantly. Then she continued blithely. "I have painting lessons on the weekend."

Rukia figured there was some reason for them, so she didn't prod any further. Instead, she shifted slightly in her seiza position, having accompanied Ichigo to her tea ceremony class and participating in it along with the other.

Keigo's sister was also there and had been assigned to be her partner, glaring scarily at her and then staring intently at Ichigo. Ichigo's own partner was a mysterious handsome man, who (when he turned to Rukia and smiled at her) gave her a strange feeling. Everything was making her antsy and Rukia wished they could leave there already.

Plus, she'd hated these lessons and the seiza position she'd been forced to learn upon her adoption.

Still, she had to shift again, thinking about her sitting arrangement. She may have been adopted into a noble clan and made to learn all their formal customs, like said tea ceremony lessons and appropriate formal sitting positions, but Ichigo's seiza position put hers to shame. She was even sure that Ichigo's seiza was better than even most of the nobles in Seireitei, and could even match Byakuya's.

"Something bothering you, Rukia?" Ichigo asked with a small frown. Ichigo's partner was also watching her curiously.

Rukia blushed slightly. "No, it's nothing."

The thought kind of randomly crossed her mind of how would Byakuya and Ichigo look together?

* * *

"This is impossible," Rukia declared while Ichigo could see Gin also looking perplexed and ready to stab the juice box with the plastic straw he was holding like a sword.

Ichigo sighed and took Rukia's, shoving the straw into the hole. She handed it back and then did the same for Gin.

"So I get to take you two to school," Gin said cheerfully as they headed out, and fiddling with his juice box.

Ichigo rolled her eyes, but did give him a smile for his eagerness and cheer. He was strangely adorable, as was Rukia, especially when they got all excited or overeager about some human thing or other. She made it a point to allow them to ask her whatever they wanted to know about, and though exasperated, Ichigo had yet to lose patience with them about this.

"That's nice of you," she said, still wondering what was up with him. To be honest, she was starting to get Rukia a bit now, but Gin was still strange and more than a little weird, and Ichigo hadn't yet managed to figure him out.

Distracted in her thoughts, she almost missed what happened next.

Just then, at a crosswalk, she saw Orihime about to cross. However, there was also a car heading her way and had already started to beep loudly and frantically. Ichigo's eyes widened in shock and fear, worry instantly driving her in a panic.

"Orihime, watch out!"

Started – Completed (Same)  
Edited/Typed 10/2/16 – 10/2/16


	6. An Explosion of Events

Ichigo put on a burst of speed and caught up to Orihime, kneeling next to her downed figure and restraining herself from going into panic and focusing on her friend. She barely noticed the other two catching up and hovering behind her, but actually respectfully keeping a distance and letting her handle things.

"Orihime, are you alright?" she asked her friend in concern.

Orihime started to blink slowly before blinking and then sitting up suddenly. Her face swiftly lit up.

"Ichigo-hime!"

Ichigo sighed. She missed Gin mouth "hime?" to Rukia, who mouthed "later" back. Instead, Ichigo concentrated on Orihime, checking to make sure she was okay. She noted the ominous bruises on Orihime's leg. She frowned to herself and could bet the other two had seen them too.

"I'm fine, Ichigo! Let's go, let's go! Let's head to school together since we're all here," Orihime was fast back to her cheerful self, though Ichigo was feeling very skeptical then. She kept it off her face then, plastering on a smile for the other girl, but she was definitely keen on keeping an eye on her. But then Orihime finally noticed the new addition to the group and looked curiously at Gin. Orihime gave him a hesitant smile, and Ichigo gave him a look.

Gin put on a friendly face. "Hello~ I'm Gin. Nice ta meet ya."

Though still confused and hesitant, Orihime smiled happily. "Hi! I'm Orihime. Nice to meet you too!"

"We're going to be late," Ichigo frowned, watching her friend carefully and glancing briefly at the bruises she'd noticed before.

"Ah! Let's go!" Orihime grabbed Ichigo's hand and started to rush towards school.

Ichigo's lips moved up fondly, more so as Rukia yelled for them to wait for her and ran after them. Gin just went along with things gleefully, running after them and outpacing Rukia, catching up to Ichigo and Orihime easily.

Ichigo grew a little bit more fonder of this group.

* * *

School moved very slow. It was nearly painful (not an exaggeration) to be there, especially when Ichigo couldn't help thinking about Orihime and worrying about the girl. But as school ended, Ichigo once again headed towards her tea ceremony class, even in troubled thought. Rukia had disappeared straight after school to find Gin, only saying they were setting something up for her. She was curious, though probably more suspicious, but that's how she always was regarding those two Shinigami.

"Kurosaki-san, I see you're heading to our class."

Hearing the familiar voice, she turned to see Tamashii smiling at her and she hesitantly smiled back. There was something about him that she couldn't help noting, and it had been this way ever since she first met him.

She was finding it harder and harder to ignore that feeling the more time spend in his presence.

"Hello, Tamashii-san. Um, since you let me call you by your first name, you can do the same?" she offered, trying to not sound as unsure as she felt.

His smile widened slightly. "Thank you, Ichigo-san. Would you like to walk together?"

She blinked, but found herself beaming happily, something unusual for herself. Her heart also felt oddly warm.

"That would be nice," she accepted.

She couldn't find it in herself to think too hard about what was going on with herself.

* * *

Gin was probably practically vibrating in excitement, which he could see exasperated Rukia. But then Ichigo was home and he straightened up in anticipation.

He didn't know why he was so fascinated and interested by Ichigo, or managed to instantly like her so much. Maybe it was because her hair reminded him of Rangiku's. She was also really fun to play with and rile up (which was actually kind of hard to do, so he's made it a mission to do it as much as possible). And what made it better was that even though she got irritated or got exasperated with him, she didn't dislike him or think he was some sort of treacherous snake, like even Rukia did (though she was warming up to him since partnering up…a bit). Actually, Ichigo even found him amusing (if weird) most of the time, and more than tolerated him, unlike everyone else he knew.

It was nice to have someone other than Rangiku who didn't mind having him around.

"Welcome home, Ichigo!" he exclaimed as he came close to practically skipping over to her.

The roll of her eyes but quick quirk of her lips made him exceedingly giddy.

"Hey, you two," she greeted casually. She shifted in suspicion at their strange behavior, since Rukia had now joined Gin in being really excited. "What is with you two?"

"We have a contact," Rukia started eagerly.

Gin continued. "He said he had a place where we could train you. No Hollow will stand with us as your trainers!"

Ichigo smiled slightly. "Thanks, you dorks. When do we start?"

"Tomorrow, after your tea ceremony class. It'll probably last a few hours though," Rukia tacked on tentatively.

Ichigo looked thoughtful. "That should be fine. I usually train Yuzu and Karin, but Dad can take over. I'll have to let my fiancé know I'm training so he knows why I'm so busy though."

Rukia couldn't help gaping, while Gin's eyes actually opened slightly in shock.

"Fiancé?" Rukia stared at her.

Ichigo shrugged, already moving to get dinner ready. "Oh, yes –it's a long story, but it was an arranged marriage. He works at the hospital."

Rukia obviously wasn't unfamiliar with the concept of arranged marriages, but still! And this was Ichigo. On the other hand, Gin was tilting his head at the situation and wasn't sure how he felt.

"Wait, did you say he's working already?" Rukia caught that. How old was this guy?

Ichigo gave her an uncertain look. "Yeah? He's the Director of Karakura Hospital." Which made Rukia sputter and Gin nearly stumbled since he'd been walking towards Ichigo to find out what she was cooking.

"How old is he?" Gin asked what Rukia had been thinking just earlier.

Ichigo hmmed. "I think he's 40."

They were pretty sure that wasn't a normal age gap concerning humans.

"Just don't let him know about Soul Reapers and stuff," Rukia mumbled.

Gin was watching Ichigo and she was for some reason looking oddly hesitant. Did it have something to do with her father being the former Captain Shiba and her already knowing of them?

"Yeah, sure," Ichigo muttered.

Hm, this was something to keep thinking about.

* * *

Ichigo yawned, getting ready for bed. She slipped into bed and had just closed her eyes when she heard a suspicious thud. Keeping herself normal, she lay in bed and tried to keep listening and figure out who and where the intruder was. She had to force herself to continue acting normal when she felt her bed dip and a warm body slip under the covers next to her.

"Eh, Ichigo, you're still awake?"

What the?!

Ichigo's eyes completely snapped open and she shot up in bed, scrambling away from Gin.

"What're you doing in my bed?!" she screeched. She was amazed she hadn't woken up anyone at this point.

Gin just grinned. "Sleepin' or about. What else?"

"But why in my bed?" A tick developed by her temple.

"'Cause I'm really warm and comfy here," he answered like that made it okay. "Besides, Rukia's sleepin' in your closet."

Ichigo's eyes snapped towards her closet, just as it slid open and an angry female leaned out of it.

"Well, you already have a bed!"

"Wait, since when?" Ichigo was practically gaping.

Rukia glared at the unrepentant man. "Since your father offered it to him while he's working at the clinic 'part-time.'"

Ichigo shook her head before glaring at both Soul Reapers.

"Okay, you know what? I don't care. Whatever. You two, this is _not_ right or correct. Out!"

"But I need to be close by if you need to transform!" Rukia said in a panic. "And I don't have anywhere to go or stay!"

"What she said," Gin said quickly. At Rukia's glare, he amended that. "Except my room…"

Ichigo sighed loudly. "Fine, you can stay!"

Gin poke her side. "Me too?"

Ichigo honestly didn't have any energy for this and wanted to sleep already. "Ugh, whatever."

She decided she didn't care. She just wanted to sleep.

So if she had to deal with Gin snuggling up to her and knowing Rukia was in her closet…

Fine.

(She'd find a way to kill them both later on –or get her revenge when they least expect it.)

* * *

As soon as she stepped out of her tea ceremony class, she was assaulted by Gin and Rukia (who had attended class with her again, and was forced to deal with Mizuho for a second time). The two of them dragged her off somewhere, and she didn't have time to process anything before she found herself in front of a small, out of the way shop.

"Why are we here?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

"For that training we told you about," Rukia told her matter of fact.

Ichigo gave them skeptical looks, but they continued to just smile at her.

"You'll see~" Gin sing-songed and dragged her inside.

Inside looked to be some sort of candy shop, complete with rows and rows of assorted candy. There was a sweet scent to the air and Ichigo was able to briefly look around, before she found her observation interrupted.

"Welcome to Urahara Shouten! I'm Kisuke Urahara. You must be Ichigo."

Ichigo saw the blond man appear suddenly, wearing a strange green and white-striped hat, wooden sandals, and a green hakama.

"Who's Sandal-Hat?" she asked, though she blushed at her rudeness. If her mother had heard her…

"He's our contact," Rukia explained. "He has somewhere you can train."

Gin used a hand to shade his 'eyes.' "Where _is_ it though, Urahara-san?"

"Right this way," Urahara pointed in a direction with a fan Ichigo just noticed.

He started walking and they followed, up until he stopped in the back and knelt down, opening a well-hidden opening on the floor.

"Down we go!" Urahara shouted and surprised Ichigo when he scooped her up and jumped down the opening.

She screamed at the long way down, but they somehow managed to land softly. Urahara moved away and soon enough Gin and Rukia joined them. Ichigo hit the stranger on the arm and pushed away from him, managing to surprise him enough to let go of her. She easily landed in a crouch and then she quickly darted away, still gazing suspiciously at the hat-wearing man. But then her attention was caught by her surroundings.

"Oh," she said softly, looking around in awe.

"This is where you'll be training in Kido, Hado, Hakudo, and Zanjutsu," Gin bounced on his feet. "Rukia-san will take care of the first three, with help. Urahara-san will be in charge of your sword work."

"What about you, Fox-face?" Ichigo asked.

"Ichi!" Gin whined and then glomped her tightly. "Gin, Gin, Gin! Call me Gin!"

Ichigo turned red, but rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. I'll call you Gin. Just get off." She shoved at him, but his hold was tight. He reluctantly let go of her after a moment.

Rukia stepped forward. "Ichigo, we'll start with the basics of Kido, okay?"

Ichigo nodded and Rukia began lecturing her. Afterwards, Rukia decided on a simple Kido spell to start with and had Ichigo repeat it several times, not knowing Ichigo had at least learned and memorized the spells from her father. Rukia then demonstrated it and had Ichigo observe and feel how it was done.

"Now you try," Rukia beamed at her.

"Aim that way," Urahara tacked on, pointing away from them with his fan.

Ichigo scowled at him before taking a deep breath. Preparing herself, she then chanted the spell and channeled her spirit energy.

A moment later, a large boom sounded.

Started – Completed  
Edited/Typed 10/2/16 – 10/2/16


	7. Put a Hole in My Heart, Pretty Baby

Urahara blew on his hot tea, holding the cup carefully. He eyed the liquid inside thoughtfully with narrowed eyes.

"What's wrong, Urahara-san?" Rukia asked worriedly.

For a moment, he didn't answer. He just continued to gaze on his tea silently.

"Sandal-Hat~" Gin whined, using Ichigo's nickname for him. "You're too silent! What's going on?"

The pale-blond man frowned at the captain. That was also strange. Gin had always been rather strange and childish at times, but he'd never been this plain and obvious about it. Most of the time, he carried himself in a strange, creepy manner, very much like a snake. Right now he was…playful; just as mischievous as usual, but in a less abrasive and mean-hearted fashion. He was never really serious though (not that he'd seen), but he wasn't really usually so cheerful like this.

"She has potential," he said finally, though he was personally aware of how much of an understatement that was.

"Tell me about it," Gin laughed. "She nearly blew apart your secret training ground."

Urahara hid his grimace at that. "She's very strong," he nodded, settling down his drink without having even taken a sip of it. "Beyond that really. Kido, with her kind of spirit energy, should be an impossibility. In a way, it still is. She has so much of it, that doing Kido without doing damage, even when it's a Kido spell meant not to, seems impossible. The bigger level of a Kido it is, the easier it will be for her to perform it and maybe even correctly put out a correct amount of reiatsu for those, though she'll still be causing huge damage and continuing to put out a lot of power into those spells. It's the lesser, basic spells that we know and what will probably trip her up. She has so much spirit energy, it'll be impossible not to overpower those."

"What do you suggest we do then?" Rukia asked in consternation.

"We can teach her those spells," Urahara had already decided. "We will just have to allow for her to overpower them. Instead, we'll focus on control, so she can at least be able to control where and how to damage something with the Kido spells she'll be taught. We'll probably have to work backwards, teaching her the bigger, more energy required, and more powerful spells. I have a feeling those will be easy for her to learn and do. The smaller ones might even take years for her to perfect and gain the control required to perform them right, and without blowing up everything around her."

"Eh, so Ichi can learn the basic Kido while overpowering them and blowing stuff up?" Gin frowned. Then he smiled widely. "Sounds fun!"

Though Rukia was exasperated and lecturing him as best a subordinate could do, Urahara privately agreed and hid his smirk behind the cup he'd picked up again.

Things were certainly going to be interesting.

_Urahara kept himself from gaping, the blast having deafened his ears and surprised him from the obvious destruction that blast had probably cost. And when the smoke cleared, he was correct in that, seeing how his training grounds had become practically ruins. He was lucky the blast hadn't torn a hole in the area, and he would have to postpone training indefinitely until he and the others could fix that hole. As it was, he would have to strengthen and add more spells and repower the training grounds to handle the kind of firepower Ichigo was capable of._

" _I-Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed. "That was…that was…"_

" _Amazing!" Gin clapped his hands. "Do it again!"_

" _No!" Rukia yelled, while Urahara eyed the damage speculatively._

_Ichigo coughed in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head._

" _Um, sorry, Sandal-Hat," she murmured, looking at the damage with wide-eyed fascination as well._

" _Hm, we'll need to stop for today," Urahara said. "I'll have to fix up the grounds and make some adjustments so that Ichigo-kun won't have to hold back…" he couldn't help adding a little teasing tone at the end, and was rewarded with a pretty flush on the orangette's face._

_Ah yes. Looks like he was going to enjoy these training sessions very much._

* * *

Ichigo actually felt tired. She'd had a long day and had to deal with very strange people, and Rukia and Gin were proving to be a handful. Each.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Deciding she didn't feel like cooking that night, she looked around the street she was on, and spotted a ramen bar that was open and smelled delicious even from where she was. Entering Ichiraku Ramen, she spotted only one other person there, and the cook and his helper.

"Hello, welcome!" the cook greeted. "What would you like?"

"Four orders please," Ichigo gave a polite smile. "One miso, one beef, one pork, and one chicken."

"Coming right up!"

She took a seat at the bar and was going to just wait it out, when the one other customer there stood up and moved over, choosing to sit next to her. That brought her full attention to him, and she watched him with wary eyes.

He was a handsome guy, tall, lean and with fair skin. His brown eyes looked at her with curiosity, while he ran a hand through his dark, combed-back hair, pulling lightly at the ends of it at the nape of his neck.

He held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Kugo Ginjo. I'm pretty much a regular at this shop, since I really like ramen. I haven't seen you around before?"

"First time," she said neutrally, cautiously grabbing his hand and shaking it. "I was hungry and didn't feel like cooking for the family."

"Oh, you have a family already?" he asked in surprise.

She rolled her eyes. "Not like that. I usually cook for my sisters and my dad after school ends and when I get home."

He grinned. "That's sweet of you. Good thing you dropped by here –this place is great! And plus, you got to meet me," he winked flirtingly at her, which caused her to be taken aback and huff in exasperation (even if she was amused too).

He was cute though…

She mentally shook her head. She had a fiancé. Teenage hormones or not, she should remember that. Even if this guy really was cute.

' _Geez, who am I? Orihime? Tatsuki?'_  she thought.

Then again, even if she wasn't boy crazy like those two were (even tomboyish Tatsuki), there wasn't anything wrong with noticing and appreciating how handsome and cute some guys were, right? That was normal.

Despite her initial wariness, she found that she really liked talking and being around this stranger, and was surprised how well they got along with each other.

* * *

Laden down with her purchased dinner, she headed home after that and tried to hurry before the light completely disappeared and it would be dark. She was surprised though, that she had actually exchanged numbers with Kugo. Once she was home, she was greeted enthusiastically by her family, dodging a glomp from her father.

"I have hot food, idiot," Ichigo grumbled. "Move."

She easily shifted the bag to her other hand and pushed him down when he tried to get up from where he missed her. Heading to the kitchen, she lay the bag down on the table and took out the containers.

"Aww, Ichigo bought us food," Isshin cooed. "It's so sweet! I'm going to miss your cooking though, my beloved eldest."

Ichigo ignored him and focused on her sisters. "There's chicken, miso, pork, and beef. Grab a bowl from the cabinet and choose whichever one you want."

Isshin pouted, but came closer and did as the girls were, grabbing his own bowl.

After having a good dinner with her family, Ichigo cleaned up the tables while Karin volunteered to do the dishes and Yuzu wiped down the table. Isshin was useless, blathering happily to his poster of their mother.

"I'm going to get ready for bed," she told them. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ichi-nee!" Yuzu and Karin said, while Isshin attempted to glomp her. This time she allowed it, patting his back in exasperation.

Once she finally managed to pry him off and send him away, she headed upstairs and took a quick shower. Heading to her room after it in a robe, she was stopped at the door by the sight of Hou, Zangetsu, and of all people Tamashii was there too.

Hou and Zangetsu looked agitated, though Zangetsu hid it mostly well. Tamashii though, looked at her with a fond expression, smiling gently and unbothered by Ichigo's mostly undressed state.

"I've been waiting for you," he said, though he glanced at the other two in there, which surprised her since even Gin or Rukia couldn't see Hou or Zangetsu. "These two have kept me company in the meanwhile."

"Who are you?" she breathed out, wary about him, especially since he seemed to be able to see and interact with her two companions.

She didn't know exactly what Hou was, but Zangetsu was her zanpakuto. How could he see him?

"Are you a Soul Reaper?" she asked guardedly, entering the room and closing her door firmly behind her. She looked around and saw no sign of either Rukia or Gin.

"No, I am not," he said solemnly. "I'm…" he paused, looking thoughtful. "Something else," he said simply, which made her feel uneasy.

He held up his hands and a tray of tea and cookies began to appear on them. He held the tray up and nodded towards it.

"I would, however, like you to have tea and cookies one last time with me," he said strangely. "I'm going to be gone for a while. Please, come here and sit," he gestured to the bed he was sitting and where he placed the tray on.

Ichigo began to feel ominous, but she still couldn't help her feet walking over and sitting down next to him on her bed, the tray the only thing between them.

Together, they sat there in silence, with Ichigo eating and drinking the cookies and while Tamashii didn't eat anything or drink a single drop of his tea, merely watching her with solemn eyes.

When the last of the tea and cookies were gone, he stood up and watched her for a moment, her head bowed and not looking at him at all.

"Thank you, Ichigo Kurosaki. You have no idea the great favor you have done me. Until next time."

And then he was suddenly gone.

Ichigo took a deep shuddering breath, feeling Zangetsu place his hand gently onto her bowed head while Hou grabbed her hands and held it in his much smaller ones.

"Things are muddled and unclear now, but do not fear your path," Zangetsu murmured to her. "We will travel alongside you to wherever you go and whatever you choose. Fear not," he repeated.

"Is it still raining?" she murmured.

"Yes. But we are still here."

She closed her eyes and forced herself to focus on evening out her breaths.

* * *

Ryuken was staying late at the hospital again, but he was taking a quick break to smoke on the rooftop of his office. He'd been busy and had so much to do that day, and it felt good to just take a break and relax for a bit. He'd have to get back to some paperwork again, but at least his other duties were done for the moment.

But then his phone rang and he scrunched up his eyebrows. Taking it out, he was pleased (if surprised) to find that it was his fiancée calling him. He answered immediately.

"Ichigo?"

"Ryuken," her voice was soft, but oddly unsteady. "Can I come see you?"

"Right now?" he asked startled. At her silence, he shook his head at himself. "Yes, of course. Do you need a ride?"

"No. I'll be there in a little bit."

"I'll see you soon then."

He worried about her and what had caused her to sound so unsure of herself.

Started 8/31/17 – Completed 8/31/17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while, guys! I didn't mean to stop (though to be honest, the pause for this fic isn't nearly as long as some of my others XD). I won't be too regular with this, but I will definitely try to keep up with it and update more. Please remember to review as I find much motivation and more willing to get myself going and writing for the fics that people review the most for!
> 
> Quick Points:
> 
> 1\. Ryuken and Isshin: When I talk 'age', I mean physical –so to me, Isshin looks to be around Ryuken (and Masaki's) age group. He's a Shinigami, so I'm guessing he's muuuuch older than that of course.
> 
> 2\. Tamashii: I will say he's not an OC. If you can figure out who he is, bravo! If not…well, you'll see soon (maybe not too soon, lol).
> 
> 3\. Pairings: These are the set ones: Ryuken Ishida/Ichigo, Gin/Ichigo, Urahara/Ichigo, Aizen/Ichigo, Ukitake/Ichigo, Kyouraku/Ichigo, Byakuya/Ichigo. The ones I may or may not add are Grimmjow, Ulquirrora, Starrk, and/or Kugo. There will definitely be one-sided others with Ichigo (and those I just listed are definitely going to be one-sided at least).


End file.
